Brinker announces animal-welfare plan

DALLAS – Brinker International, owner of Chili’s and other restaurant chains, recently announced plans to dramatically reduce its supply of pork products sourced from processors who use gestation stalls for pregnant sows.

In a statement on the company’s website, Brinker said the company does not own, raise, transport or process farm animals, but it can influence animal welfare and production processes by carefully selecting suppliers. Brinker also explained its plans for impacting the use of gestation stalls in its pork supply chain.

"In the short term, we will do our part by committing to a goal of dramatically reducing our supply of pork products that come from processors who use gestation crating in sows,” Brinker said. “Recognizing that systems aren’t currently in place to guarantee verification of all farming conditions, over the next five to seven years Brinker’s goal is to ensure a substantial majority of our pork products are sourced from vendors who have committed to eliminating gestation stalls from farms they operate.”